I work in the ICT department of a local district council and we have an opportunity through partnership working to improve the way we work to deliver services to our users.

I am keen to get an ITIL implementation programme signed off and have been working (in my own time) on building a business case for it. So far they have agreed to use a process methodology of some description but the actual one is yet to be decided.

Is there anyone out there who has already successfully persuaded their management that implementing ITIL would resolve some of their local issues? If so, what techniques did you use?

My main concern is that we will need everyone trained to have an appreciation of the basis of the ITIL process we decide to implement and this will take resource both in time and money which in the public sector we are always short of. Also, any tips on maintaining the buy-in once you obtain it would be helpful.

We are currently implementing ITIL, but not because somebody put a business case forward - because the customer (the biggest we've ever had) demanded it!

However, if you get hold of the ITIL book on Service Support, there is a whole chapter in there on how to put the case forward to management, including financial, cultural and functional aspects of the implementation.

It would probably be worth having a thread in this forum just on implementation.

As per your request - a few practical tips.

* Go ahead with a business case - but the first thing ITIL requires is a compatible policy and governance approach within the organisation.

* You don't need to start with software - toolsets - but ITIL does not specify an information architecture - and no process framework that large can function without one. An pre-built information architecture for ITIL is something the better tools can provide.

* All the literature - and the community in general will talk about 'staged implementation', 'quick wins', 'continuous improvement' etc - giving the impression that ITIL scales quite naturally. It does not. Even a cursory reading of the framework makes it clear that all the returns worth having in any process are dependent on a number of other processes existing. So from day one, be aware that one of your biggest challenges will be to scale your implementation.

* The most common starting points are a) Service Desk / Incident Management: scaling out to Problem Change Release etc, b) An Infrastructure focued approach begining with Change Release and Config Management, and (least common) C A Service Level management approach, starting with SLAs and Availability / Capacity management.

* All these have pros and cons - bear in mind however regardless of where you start two processes are 'more foundational' than the others: Configuration Management and Service Level Management. Without minimal capabilities in these areas you run the risk of overloading the process you do have in place to compensate for the absence of SLM and ConfigM.

* Training is always a good investment - note the Foundation Certificate is insufficient from a project point of view, someone (or more) should do Manager or Practioner level training.

* Never ever forget: ITIL is NOT your objective. Quality service delivery to the company is the objective - ITIL is a means to this end. From a cultural change point of view it is easier to get people behind using ITIL to lift performance than 'implementing ITIL'. Starting with a business case will set you on that path - stay on it.

It would probably be worth having a thread in this forum just on implementation.

Yes, I think you're right there! Can we get a new implementation thread up and pinned to the top of the forum perhaps?

I'm currently waiting for the new financial year (April) so I can get a budget agreed for my ITIL management certificate training. As you say, foundation is insufficient to implement an ITIL programme. I'm pretty sure they appreciate that fact but I'll be certain once I get the funding!

For me I think the most useful tip is getting colleagues to think about improving service rather than the terminology 'ITIL' as the service to users is something they all understand (if not necessarily appreciate!).

Current state is a reasonably mature incident management process and service desk function. However, our problem management is still mixed in with our incident handling so I think in our case that area may be a 'quick win'.

We have very basic configuration management which isn't worth much because we do not have a robust change management process.

A need has already been identified to improve upon Change Management. and as a lot of talk is going on about it so I figure it makes sense that rather than them starting from scratch we use best practice and go from there.

The other area I see we need to make a start on is a proper service catalogue. We have a SLA in place for the main corporate services but there is room for improvement. The users themselves have said they would like to know what is and what isn't available from ICT - it would help us manage expectations which I often think is half of our problem!

Anyhow, I'm putting forward the idea that we have a programme of short/sharp projects rather than one immense one. Ideally with some time to bed things down a little in between.

So Itilimp you are implementing ITIL as well.
Good luck with it.
I read that you got a Bussiness case , incident management process and service desk function. Also you got a start on problem management. You are on the right track. You are also busy on Service Catalogue and SLA. I am busy with Service Level Management process and starting on those 2 documents too. I want like to know what you next steps are. And which/where you get your information (internet/books etc.). Maybe you can provide me some info and perhaps a peek at your documents to see how you do things?
You can mail me at carlitocabana @ gmail . com if you like it would be nice
Thanks in advantage and best regards,
CC

Just to clarify that I am still at the stage where I am trying to build ITIL awareness and the concept of IT service delivery and service improvement as something we should be doing as part of our daily job.

We already have the service desk function and incident management process because I was project manager on a consolidation operation pulling 3 council help desks into one and I looked to best practice (ITIL) to inform how this could be done.

The other areas I mentioned are where I personally believe we should be investing our time in next, but where I work it is crucial to have that management buy in and support (resources, financial, people, time, etc.) if we are going to implement it formally.

As it is, I use ideas from ITIL to inform and guide my own thoughts on service improvement until such time as I get the all important go-ahead to implement an ITIL programme (albeit broken down into smaller projects).

It sounds like your company is further ahead in the process than we are.

As for the SLA, I can send you a copy of our internal one although it may not be the best model to use. It is not a SLA in the truest sense because there has been no sign off by the relevant people of all 3 councils - it was hard enough to get agreement to even have something to work to! I figure once we've had a year of working like this they will be ready for the next step with customers having real input into the SLA (they had minimal for this one).

As for the resources, I own the Service Support book and ITIL pocket guide to ITSM, and work just purchased the Service Delivery book for me.

Other than that, I trawl the good old internet, this forum, etc. I've found past conference papers of the itSMF very helpful as well as various whitepapers from companies. Google is your friend

itilimp OK so your also at "start" let's say.
I also bought a ITIL services book but my opinion is that most books are based on theorie. That's where google and this forum comes in hand with good info, examples etc. (don't forget the FITS site is has also very well documented info). I would like to receive a copy of you SLA it would be a nice start although some things are not 100% sure for me. So i look forward on receiving a copy (carlitocabana @ gmail . com ) thanks in advantage. As for Service Delivery i start with Service Catalogue and the SLR.

ITILImp - whilst advocating a business plan to highlight possible need to implement ITIL as a best practice - which should cover the current governance structure to show where ITIL processes could assist, I'd also be inclined to use th OGC as a reference point - after all if it's originated in central govt I'd imagine local would use aswell......

ITIL Imp I am a civil servant working in central offices within the Department for Work and Pensions and we are embracing ITIL and staff are being encouranged to take ITIL (for higher grades it is mandatory.) We are using a supplier we have procured training with. We are doing the same for CMMI (that was covered in the ITIL Applications Management Foundation) it is the model for measuring how mature your organisation is. This has actually been built into new contracts with one of our lead service providers stating they need to be at a certain level and we do.

I dont quite know the differences operated between local government and local councils but it may be worth mentioning it or looking into as I imagine our businesses interlink and we probably engage with each others departments.

Hi, Fishkake (love your name's imagery)
I am in awe of what you are trying to implement, and wish you much success.
My experience may not offer much by way of contributions, but here goes anyway. When I was tasked to implement Problem Mgmt, we already had various help desks throughout the company. Our logic was that I would implement PM just for our department. While I was trying to find out what the status & maturity was of all the other ITIL processes, it seemed that everyone thought they were already doing them , but for their own area.
Yes, there are silos all over the place on the prairies in Canada, and inside this company is no exception!
I didn't want to wait to start Problem Mgmt while we consolidated our help desks, joined all the lists of config items into one central CMDB, defined a corporate Change process, and invented the SLA of SLAs - so what I tried to do was identify the source of each repository, its contents and owner, and make that 'public'. Some of them were pretty much a statement of who/what. I was able to get all my incidents from one place, but I let everyone else rely on their own (known) sources. cludgy? yes. but it had value in that I could show how the 'new' (what I was doing) fit with the 'old' (what they were doing) and was part of a larger framework (ITIL). making it public (intranet web pages) meant that each silo could see what was going on in the other groups, demonstrating transparency and objectivity. Of course, over time, we HAVE consolidated our help desks, and implemented a corporate Change Process and CMDB. There is a strong recognition of the value of the ITIL processes, and continuously improving process maturity. But it has taken time, which I understand you don't have.
Maybe what I'm trying to suggest is a high level maturity assessment - with smaller projects as you mentioned identified to move the maturity forward in areas that are at a low level. tied into an awareness program, it might be enough to establish credibility that you will achieve it with your customer.
I will stop rambling now
/Sharon

Rache, I'd be particularly interested in chatting with you (or someone who is a big proponent of ITIL) to find out how you got to the cultural stage where ITIL experience/qualifications are mandatory for higher grades.

Im not sure how it came about to us minions not in the know we just heard the managers were taking these courses and everyone else had to do a one day overview it is something contractual with our third parties suppliers I think so I am unsure what help I can be, I know our training provider is called Parity if that helps any and like I say it may be related to CMMi as well. I will dig around tomorrow and find out how it came about and let you know what I can.